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Clark Wiley
The article below was retired from "Genie Wiley", by Will Johnson, professional genealogist wjhonson@aol.com, at http://www.countyhistorian.com/cecilweb/index.php/Genie_Wiley, copyright 2007-8, all rights reserved. Clark G Wiley was born as "Pearl Wiley" on 29 Mar 1901 in Oregon, to a Mr Wiley and his wife Pearl May somebody. (see here for his name) He was teased for this girl's name, and later changed it to Clark. His son John Wiley stated that Clark was "raised by a bar-girl in a bordello". (See here) Clark Wiley married Dorothy Irene Oglesby in Los Angeles County on 28 Sep 1944 where her parents were living at that time. Clark and Irene had four children, all born in Los Angeles County, California but two died young, probably at his hands. The eldest child has been reported to have died due to Clark's neglect and the second child's death, only two days old, "choking on his own mucus" seems suspicious. Clark and Irene's children were: #Dorothy Irene Wiley born 2 Jun 1948, died 19 Aug 1948 #Robert Clark Wiley born 15 Sep 1949, died 17 Sep 1949 #John Gray Wiley born 11 Mar 1952, died 18 Feb 2011 #Susan M Wiley born 18 Apr 1957 Clark's middle name could possibly be "Gray" as his second son carries that middle name. This son John died in 2011. When John was age four he was taken to live with his grandmother "Mrs Pearl Martin", Clark's mother. He lived with her about two years, up to the time, when he saw her get struck by an out-of-control pickup truck when he was six. John then went back to live with his parents. His father Clark blamed John for the death of "Clark's beloved mother" (John's grandmother). ABCnews has just reported that "Clark Wiley was devasted by the death of his mother in a hit-and-run accident in 1958. Within months of her death, he moved in to her two-bedroom house on Golden West Road in Temple City, Calif." (see here) "He became enraged when the teen arrested for his mother's death was not prosecuted" (see here) Clark Wiley, a retired machinist, has been described as some sort of recluse — "They never went anywhere and never took the children anywhere. They never spoke to anybody." Clark was the main power in the home, his wife Dorothy being nearly blind was totally dependent on and frightened of him. Their son John has stated that Clark often sat with a gun in his lap. Clark and Dorothy were the parents of Susan Wiley called "Genie" in some of the popular books and scientific papers about her case. Clark and Dorothy were arrested once the authorities found that Susan had been kept virtually isolated from normal human contact almost her entire life of thirteen years. Susan still wore diapers, couldn't talk, and was fed a substandard diet which stunted her growth. It has been reported that when found she weighed 59 pounds and was the size of a 7 to 8 year old. From years of confinement, her muscles had not developed normally, which caused her to walk in a peculiar way. The family were described as "strange people who kept to themselves." Just moments before his scheduled arraignment, with his wife Dorothy, on Felony Child Abuse charges, Clark Wiley shot himself in the head on 20 Nov 1970, using a 38-revolver. His body was found in their home, by their son John aged 18, who was waiting outside to drive Clark to the courthouse. (Arcadia Tribune, 22 Nov 1970) Clark's death was handled as a suicide, since he was alone in the house, while his son and other boys were waiting outside to drive him to court. "John Wiley had been staying with a friend Bruce Moore for the past two months." Irene had entered a plea of "not guilty" just prior to being told, at the arraignment, that Clark was dead. Irene went to trial in Municipal Court, but the judge dismissed the charges against her. Bruce Moore said "up to a thousand cars have been driving by here, and between 100 and 150 of them have stopped in front of the house." Moore laid the blame for the elder Wiley's suicide on the press. He also said of Susan, "I've seen her outside. She wasn't kept a prisoner. The girl had been retarded since birth... And she had toys, I've seen her playing with them."